BRUSSELS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The outgoing head of theEuropean Union's executive, Jean-Claude Juncker of the EuropeanCommission, has cut short a holiday to undergo urgent surgery,his press team said in a statement on Saturday.
"Jean-Claude Juncker had to shorten his holiday in Austriafor medical reasons. He was taken back to Luxembourg where hewill undergo an urgent cholecystectomy (surgical removal of thegallbladder)," the team said of what is normally a routinemedical procedure.
Juncker, a former Luxembourg premier whose health has beenthe subject of rife speculation among EU politicians, analystsand media for years, is due to step down on Oct. 31 as head ofthe Commission.
He will be replaced by German conservative Ursula von derLeyen, the first woman to lead the institution that proposes EUlaws, polices the economies of all members of the bloc andnegotiates trade deals around the world.(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Hugh Lawson)